“Got it,” I say, marveling over his foresight at this point in the game. He’s not telling me this to be prepared for an unexpected abduction. No, he’ll have notice of when that’s going to occur, and I’ll have time to be dressed accordingly. He’s telling me to start wearing casual clothing now so that it becomes my norm… my habit… and it won’t seem out of place later on down the line.
Wyatt turns away and opens the door. He turns to me after he steps into the hallway. Our eyes lock, and his gaze flits for the barest of moments down to my lips and then back up again. “Lock up. And stay safe, okay?”
“Okay,” I say. “You stay safe too.”
I start to shut the door, but Wyatt’s hand shoots out and stops the progression. I look at him in surprise.
“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper, and then he’s gone.
Chapter 7
Wyatt
Almost a week to the day after I went to Andrea’s apartment, I push on the handle to the back door from Simon’s office and step out into the parking lot behind the club. When the door closes behind me, the music is immediately drowned out and I don’t waste any time, because right now… it’s a precious commodity.
Pulling my phone out, I dial Mike Gomez and he answers on the first ring. “Talk,” is all he says.
“It’s going down tomorrow night,” I tell him while I keep my eye on the back door to make sure no one else comes out. “Simon just left about five minutes ago to iron out the details with the buyer.”
“Where will it go down?” he asks, his voice now on high alert.
“No clue yet, but I will try to call or text the minute I find out,” I tell him.
Chances of me being able to do that though are nil, and I tell him that as well. While Simon is going to utilize me to help make the transfer, he told me he’d fill me in on the details tomorrow night. This tells me, that while I’m in the circle of trust, I’m really only standing with one foot in and the other foot still hanging out.
He had just met with Lance and me not fifteen minutes ago in his office and told me that Andrea’s buyer had committed. Unbeknownst to me, he was apparently in the club tonight and watched her dance, liked what he saw… very much, according to Simon… and made a tentative offer.
Lance and I were told to make arrangements to get her into Simon’s office tomorrow night after she gets off duty, and then the only other thing I was made privy to was that I would go along with them to make the transfer. Simon was nervous about drugging her, especially after what happened with Carla, and I suggested maybe something a little less dangerous. A small dose of Ecstasy to make her compliant and to take away her inhibitions.
He thought it was a brilliant idea, and he clapped me on the back like a proud father.
My adrenaline spiked with the knowledge that this bust was very close to going down. It also spiked with fear for Andrea’s safety, and my mind started whirring, trying to come up with some type of game plane. But unfortunately, we were going in blind and I figured we’d be winging much of this.
One other emotion coursed through me, and it took me by surprise.
I was immensely relieved when Simon said that he was leaving to meet with the buyer in a quieter place where they could continue negotiations on the price and maybe have a celebratory drink. That meant that I didn’t have to worry about Simon trying to fuck Andrea.
While he had made mention of it last week, and part of it was done in a cocky, egotistical manner as he, Lance, and I sat around after the club closed—shooting the shit—I decided I was going to take him seriously over his interest in Andrea. While she made it clear she would do whatever was necessary not to screw up this operation, I was going to move heaven and earth so she wouldn’t have to sacrifice her body… probably her soul… in that manner.
True to my word, I cashed Andrea out first every night since our talk, getting her out of the club as quickly as possible before Simon could come out of his office to make a move on her. And now that Simon was gone from the club this evening and wouldn’t return tonight, it meant that she was safe from his clutches again. Temporarily, of course, because tomorrow night the stakes were going to be astronomically high and she’d be in more danger than ever before.
Still, I welcomed the relief that Simon wouldn’t know her body.
A body that I have been constantly obsessing about… fantasizing about.
It’s absolute fucking torture watching her on the stage, night after night… her skin glowing, her body undulating, completely fucking naked and moving so provocatively. It causes me to have to go home each night and jack off my frustration.
I have never in my entire career been attracted to another fellow law enforcement officer. Not that there haven’t been some beautiful women that I’ve worked with, but I’ve never chosen to look at them as anything more than an extension of myself.
But Andrea’s different. While she’s playing her role to perfection, it doesn’t mean that elements of her true personality don’t shine through at times. It may be in the way that she gives a soft smile to one of the few patrons that actually treat the women with respect, or the way that she jokes around with some of the bouncers. Sometimes, it’s even in the way that I watch her on stage, and she’s entrancing every man with her eroticism, yet I can tell by the look on her face that she’s far away in a safe place. I admire the way that she can compartmentalize, and that shows me a lot about her moral fiber and her dedication to the job.